


Brand New Babies

by alley_oops, jennandanica



Series: Citadel: Luke Evans and Alex Skarsgard [178]
Category: Actor RPF, Citadel (Journalfen RPG), True Blood RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 13:30:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14106447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alley_oops/pseuds/alley_oops, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennandanica/pseuds/jennandanica





	Brand New Babies

  
**players only. backdated to November 2015, in Sweden. takes place a few days after[Alex's sister Elin gives birth to the twins.](https://alex-skarsgard.dreamwidth.org/11195.html)**

"Like this?" Alex asks a nurse, and moves his tiny infant daughter more securely into the crook of his arm. He sits down in a chair, watching as the nurse carefully hands Luke a second tiny bundle. "Jesus," he whispers. "I'm so scared I'm going to break them." Of course, he has only been a father for two days, and even though it's been explained to him that the twins are good-sized for twins, they're still pretty small for newborns. Not even two whole kilos each. But beautiful, God – every miniature feature so completely detailed in its perfection.

"Every parent thinks that," Luke tries to reassure Alex – without taking his eyes off Rhys.

"Oh, good. That's a real relief," Alex jokes, and carefully tucks Kaja against his chest while he scoots his chair next to Luke's. "Look at these two," he marvels, adjusting Kaja's oxygen tubing so that he won't accidentally yank it. The plastic cannulas, the incubators, the beeping of monitors in the NICU around them... None of it breaks into the dream world he feels he's been inhabiting since the birth. Of course, the fact that he and Luke have snatched only scraps of sleep over the past three days might also have something to do with how fuzzy his brain feels.

"They're beautiful," Luke says, smiling over at his husband. "I can't believe they're here." They've spent so long planning for this, a good year alone before they found out Elin was actually pregnant.

"Yeah." Alex strokes Kaja's palm, amazed when she clutches his finger tightly. They can tell him a million times that it's just a reflex all infants have, but he couldn't care less. When his babies hold onto him like this, it feels like an incredible gift that's special just for him and his husband.

"She likes you," Luke says with a happy sigh, watching Alex with their daughter, Rhys snuffling against his own chest. It's not the brightest comment he's ever made but he's so tired he can barely see straight much less speak so getting any words from him right now is amazing.

Alex grins. "I think she takes after you," he muses. "The shape of her eyes. But I think Rhys is going to look a lot like my nephew."

"Like Greger?" Luke can see that. "He'll be a handsome boy then. Won't you?" He kisses the top of Rhys's head, inhaling that new baby smell.

Now Alex's adoring smile is all for his husband. "I love you," he says softly. "You're a natural. I love that you're so good at this."

"At what? Smelling our kids?" Luke grins. "I'm no more a natural than you are. The real test comes when we leave the hospital with them," he teases.

"Yeah." Apprehension crosses Alex's face. "It kind of freaks me out that they expect us to take care of them like we actually know what we're doing." It's a common fear, right? Totally normal. Not necessarily indicative of intrinsic incompetence, not at all.

"Just think of all the people who have felt that way," Luke says, reaching out for Alex's hand. "And all the kids who have survived stupid parents. We love them and want to do our best by them, that alone puts us where we need to be."

Alex smiles, more faintly this time, then flags down a nearby nurse. "How much did they eat so far?"

The nurse glances at his watch. "Eating? Ah, your young lady did nearly 15 milliliters at the start of today." His gaze moves rapidly over the twins' monitors as he answers, assessing numbers. "But this baby must eat more." A gesture towards Rhys. "He is that– How do you say in American? Wimpy White Boy Syndrome."

The guy doesn't even seem to notice when Alex shoots him a severe frown. "So bring us bottles and we'll see if they're hungrier now."

"Wimpy white boy syndrome?" Luke raises a brow at Alex, hoping his husband can explain that one more to him before he kicks the nurse. Or worse.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Alex mutters, scowling, and brushes his fingers over their son's cheek, unconsciously protective. "Hey," he asks another nurse, and hopes this one is truly fluent in English. "Have you ever heard of something called Wimpy White Boy Syndrome?"

"Ahh, yes?" The nurse holds up a "wait for a second" hand, and turns to hang an IV bag on a preemie patient across the aisle. Then she crosses to the two men, and smiles down at their babies. "We see it a lot. The scientists really don't know why, but white baby males who are born too early often don't grow as fast as girls. Or babies who are not white. They are just not as healthy." She points to the pale blue knitted cap that Rhys is wearing. "You are worried for your son?"

"I wasn't until the other nurse said that," Luke says, glowering at the poor woman. "Should I be?"

She merely smiles at their expressions. In her job, she is very accustomed to dealing with her patients' parents at their worst. "How early did they come?" she asks, holding her arms out for Rhys.

"33 weeks," Alex answers, eyeing her suspiciously.

Luke reluctantly hands over Rhys and rises to his feet.

"Oh, and look at this handsome man," she coos, studying Rhys as she strokes his cheek. "He eats from his bottle?"

"Yeah," Alex says, and he closely watches her every move. "He drinks some formula and some... Their mother is pumping." And god, _that_ is an image he'd love to scrub his brain clean of.

The nurse continues her assessment, even going so far as to unwrap Rhys from his swaddling blanket so that she can gently press on his belly, then inspect his legs and his toes. With a glance aside at the O2 monitors, she gives Luke a beaming smile. "He looks perfect to me." The babies' nurse returns, handing each father a small bottle, and she dismisses him with a jerk of her chin. " _Tak, Bastian. Jag kommer att ta hand om dem nu._ " Her eyes flash a warning.

Alex slowly smiles in appreciation of the senior nurse's deft takedown of her coworker. "So, he's good?"

"I believe so," she nods, and bundles Rhys up again before handing him back to Luke. "Just fatten him more. He'll get strong."

"Thank you," Luke says, tears stinging his eyes for a moment as he tucks his son into the crook of his arm again and watches him start sucking on the bottle.

Now that's a beautiful sight. "Come on. Sit," Alex murmurs to his husband before he starts to feed Kaja.

"What did she say to him?" Luke asks quietly, when both nurses have moved away.

"She pretty much told him to fuck off 'cause she'll take over now." Bending, Alex lightly kisses his daughter on the forehead, then his son. "It seems like a good deal to me."

"Me too," Luke says, thankful for the change of staff. He's doing his best to stay positive and optimistic, like he always does, but it doesn't take much to create doubt and worry when it comes to the precious bundles in their arms.

Alex smiles and briefly rests his head on Luke's shoulder. "Did you get a chance to send those new pictures to Nana?"

Luke hesitates. "I think I did," he says, suddenly unsure. "But maybe I just dreamed I did. I'll have to check later."

Snorting a soft laugh, Alex kisses Luke's cheek. "It's hard to believe, but I think we're supposed to get even less sleep once we bring the babies home."

"We could take turns," Luke suggests, then sighs, "but I guess that only works if they take turns."

"Yeah." Reaching over, Alex snags a clean cloth from a supply cart next to the incubators, then drapes it over his shoulder. Lifting Kaja, he presses her close to burp, marveling still that she's so tiny he could hold her draped across his palm. "It's a good thing Elin didn't get pregnant with triplets." He snickers softly at the thought. "We'd be outnumbered."

"I might have run away and left you with them," Luke teases.

Alex pouts. "You wouldn't miss me, not even a little?"

Luke laughs, surprised he even can given how tired he is. "I'd miss you terribly and if you found a really good nanny for them all, I'd probably come back." Which reminds him... they haven't even started looking.

Rocking Kaja in his arms, Alex laughs softly. "Then I'll hire fucking Mary Poppins, and you'll stay with me forever."

Luke smiles, reaching over to touch his husband's arm – just because. "I love you."

The look in Luke's eyes damn near melts Alex where he sits. "I know," he whispers, his grin hitching up at the corner when Rhys snuffles and whimpers around his bottle. "All of us."

"Yeah," Luke agrees softly, his heart squeezing tight as he glances down at their son and then over at Alex with their daughter. "All of us."


End file.
